Eric Terranova indicted in attempted stabbing of Nassau detectives, Suffolk DA says
Authorities released a picture of a blade they said a Copiague man allegedly used when attempting to stab two Nassau County police detectives. Credit: Suffolk County D.A.
A Suffolk County grand jury has indicted a Copiague man on charges he attempted to stab a pair of Nassau County police detectives, who shot the man several times as he advanced on them while wielding a knife last year, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
The interaction between the police detectives, whose identities were not released, and Eric Terranova, 40, was captured on a neighbor’s Ring door bell camera and released Thursday by the office of Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.
Terranova has been indicted on two counts of attempted aggravated assault of a police officer, two counts of first-degree attempted assault, two counts of menacing a police officer, four counts of second-degree attempted assault and two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to DA’s office news release. The grand jury declined to indict the officers, the DA’s office said.
Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei ordered Terranova held on $500,000 cash, $1 million bond or $5 million partially secured bond at his arraignment Wednesday, the DA’s office said.
Terranova’s attorney, Ira Weissman, did not respond to a request for comment.
Tierney, in a statement, said: "Thankfully, the defendant’s brazen attack on these police officers in broad daylight ended without the loss of life. It is a stark reminder of the dangers police officers face on a daily basis.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney holds a news conference in Riverhead in August. Credit: Randee Daddona
According to the DA’s office, the police detectives went to Terranova’s house on Buchanan Avenue at about 4:30 p.m. on March 19 to investigate allegations that Terranova “had made threatening phone calls to employees of a Stop & Shop grocery store located in Nassau County.”
It's unclear what, if any, connection Terranova had to the supermarket.
Terranova first spoke to the detectives on his front porch, the DA’s office said. He “allegedly began fidgeting with his hands in his jacket pockets,” according to the DA’s office and produced a switchblade knife from his pocket that he handed to the detectives when they asked if he had any weapons.
Terranova, according to the DA’s office, “allegedly suddenly became irate, stormed into his home and slammed the front door shut.”
The 1 minute and 6 second surveillance video clip released by the DA’s office picks up the interaction at this point, the DA’s office said. The video shows the detectives walking to their unmarked vehicle.
Terranova, “holding a switchblade knife over his head and screaming he was ‘God,’ charged at the officers, the DA’s office said.
On the video, one of The officers shouts “Drop it! Drop it! Drop the knife! Drop the knife! Drop the knife! Drop the knife!”
The officer then fires what appears to be two shots as Terranova ignored the commands and continued to walk toward the detectives. A volley of fired shots is then heard.
The DA’s office said both officers fired their weapons and struck Terranova "multiple times."
“Terranova then ran directly at one of the detectives with the knife still raised over his head,” the statement from the DA’s office said. “The detectives continued to fire their handguns until Terranova fell to the ground.”
The detectives rendered emergency aid to Terranova and instructed bystanders to call 911, according to the DA’s office. Terranova was treated for his undisclosed injuries at good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip.
The prosecution’s bail letter said Terranova is a “prior felony offender” facing a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
He was previously convicted on charges of second-degree attempted assault, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and petit larceny.
Prosecutors also allege in the bail letter that Terranova was wearing a windbreaker emblazoned with “CIA” for the Central Intelligence Agency at the time of the shooting.
At the time of the shooting, the Suffolk County Police Department released limited information, saying in a news release that the Nassau police detectives shot a man who threatened them with a knife while charging at them.
Assistant District Attorney Sheetal Shetty of the Major Crime Bureau is prosecuting Terranova, who is due back in court Monday.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
